A/HRC/45/28 55. While States bear the main responsibility under international human rights law for ensuring the realization of human rights, with corruption prevented from flourishing, the role of international financial institutions, in addition to compliance by the private sector, is certainly of paramount importance for curbing corruption and therefore upholding good governance at the local level. To this end, international financial institutions mainly contribute to this struggle through governance reform in client countries, and the adoption of anti-corruption measures within their operational activities. 1. Governance reform 56. International financial institutions have typically been providing policy advice and technical assistance to developing member countries in several ways. For instance, the World Bank reportedly helps Governments improve public financial management, improve judicial services, train and increase the capacity of the civil service, invest in financial information systems, expand access to information for the public and reduce opportunities for administrative corruption such as bribery.63 Similarly, IMF, which in 2018 approved a new framework for enhanced engagement on governance,64 provides technical advice to help countries to strengthen governance in areas such as tax administration, expenditure oversight, fiscal transparency, financial sector oversight, anti-corruption institutions and asset declarations for senior officials.65 AfDB has sought to strengthen the capacity of anticorruption agencies and civil society actors to fight corruption on the continent. 66 ADB has been providing technical support to developing member countries with a view to them adjusting to and adopting the various international standards on anti-money laundering, countering of the financing of terrorism, tax transparency and tax integrity.67 EBRD has supported the development and implementation of anti-corruption action plans and organized targeted training sessions on anti-money laundering, countering of the financing of terrorism and sanctions compliance.68 IDB has been conducting integrity-related training sessions in member countries, including on integrity risk management in IDB groupfinanced operations for executing agencies.69 57. While the Independent Expert welcomes these measures, he is concerned that their impact may be limited in countries marred with chronic governance shortfalls whose Governments are unwilling to effectively commit to putting an end to corruption. He calls upon international financial institutions to strengthen these measures, more particularly against the ruling class. 2. Measures with operational activities 58. International financial institutions, which are themselves vulnerable to corruption owing to the nature and often the complexity of the projects that they finance, have also taken anti-corruption measures in their operational activities. (a) Prevention and mitigation 59. Zero tolerance of corruption has been widely promoted across international financial institutions. Internally, this translates into the adoption of high ethical and integrity 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 World Bank, “Anticorruption fact sheet”, 19 February 2020. Available at www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/2020/02/19/anticorruption-fact-sheet. IMF, “IMF Executive Board approves new framework for enhanced engagement on governance”, 22 April 2018. Transparency International, “The IMF on corruption and COVID-19: an interview with Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, IMF”, 16 June 2020. AfDB, Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption, “Annual report 2017”, p. 13. ADB, “Fighting corruption in Asia and the Pacific”, video and transcript, 1 April 2019. EBRD, “Integrity and anti-corruption report 2018”, p. 19. IDB, Office of Institutional Integrity and Sanctions System, Annual Report 2019 (Washington, D.C., 2020), p. 28. Available at http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=EZSHARE1138756496-278. 15